Panis, A. 1979d Lotta integrata in olivicoltura. [Integrated control in olive cultivation].. Informatore Fitopatologia 29(7): 27-28.

Notes: The principal pests and diseases of olive in France, and the control measures taken against them in recent years, are reviewed; the insects involved were Dacus oleae (Gmel.), Prays oleae (Bern.) and Saissetia oleae (Ol.). In the Mediterranean basin, chemical treatment against D. oleae proved very effective, especially on early-ripening varieties of olive, and localised treatments with bait-sprays could be combined with biological methods of control. Bacillus thuringiensis, applied against P. oleae, gave only 60% direct control but permitted the natural enemies of this species and of S. oleae to multiply and so bring the combined mortality rate of the moth up to 80-90%. From 1977 introductions were made of trichogrammatid parasites of the eggs of P. oleae and also of chalcidoid parasites and of the coccinellid predator Exochomus quadripustulatus (L.) of S. oleae, and work on the acclimatisation of these species is in progress; the usefulness of E. quadripustulatus, which was also found naturally in the field, could be enhanced by introducing additional individuals reared in the laboratory before the natural population became active in the spring or after it had begun to overwinter, especially if the coccinellids were provided with appropriate shelter to prevent their migration out of the olive groves to winter habitats. It proved possible to keep olive groves free of S. oleae (and of the sooty mould developing on the honeydew excreted by it) for three years by biological means; two ecological niches not covered by other natural enemies were filled by seasonal releases of the exotic parasites Diversinervus elegans Silv. and Metaphycus helvolus (Comp.), the introduction of which cost less than chemical treatments against S. oleae would have done.